European Year of Volunteering
The year 2011 was declared by the European Commission as the “European Year of Volunteering" (EYV) to recognise and celebrate the commitments and efforts of European citizens who are making a huge difference in our lives through their volunteering in countless ways. The European Year of Volunteering is a celebration of the commitment of millions of people across Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid – for example in schools, hospitals, and sports clubs, protecting the environment, providing social services and helping people in other countries.
Their efforts and those of the many thousands of volunteering organisations make a huge difference to our lives in countless ways. The world would be much worse off without volunteers! The EYV is also a challenge to the three-quarters of the European population who do not do any volunteering. We would like to say to them that they can also make a difference.
The EYV aims to empower voluntary organisations and raise awareness in Europe on volunteering. The EYV also conveys the message that European citizens can make a contribution to their respective communities through volunteering.
Volunteering is much more than merely allocating some time for the benefits of the society before jumping into the professional life. Yet, it is a process in people’s lives where they get enormous amount of experience which will certainly help them throughout all phases of their individual, social, economic and political lives. Volunteering teaches people from all walks of society the realities on the ground and help them better analyse the psychological and sociological circumstances that people get through. This allows them also to take more decisive steps and more concrete decisions in their future professional lives.
Apart from that, volunteering is one of the best means of interacting with other people. Engaging in collective endeavours with people from different backgrounds and cultures gives the volunteer a great opportunity to understand what they may have in common and to recognize what differs them; hence a better understanding of the cultural other. Thus, encouraging volunteering and attracting more people to involve in it would certainly be helpful in securing social cohesion in our intercultural societies.
Five high-visibility European conferences and events have been planned to take place in various cities around Europe. These will bring together interested parties from the worlds of volunteering, business and government to debate important volunteering issues and challenges.
To find out more about "The European Year of Volunteering" and read some of the volunteers' stories visit the EYV website.